In gas chromatography, a flow of a mobile phase gas (or “carrier gas”), typically an inert gas, sweeps a sample through a gas chromatography (GC) column. Generally, the GC column includes a layer of polymer or liquid that acts as a stationary phase. The sample is separated into its constituent parts (i.e., separate compounds) as it passes through the column and interacts with the stationary phase material. As a result, the various compounds that make up the sample elute from the column at different times. Often, the effluent from the column is exposed to an ionization source to ionize analyte molecules in the effluent so that ionized analyte molecules can then be detected.